Apparatus for removing snow.



No. 683,507. Patented Out. I, l90l.

R. SHIRBEFFS. APPARATUS FOR REMOVING SNOW.

(Application flied Feb. 23, 1899.) (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet I.

fzzwzafm? No. 683,507. Patented 7 Oct. 190i. 3. smnmarrs.

APPARATUS FOR REMOVING SNOW.

(Application filed Eeb. 28, 1899.) (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2,

No. 683,507. Patented Oct. I, l90l; R. SHIBREFFS.

APPARATUS FOR REMOVING SNOW.

f (A ppl icationflledleh23,1899.) (Nq Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

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UNITED STATES PAT NT Erica.

REUBEN SHIRREFFS, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

APPARATUS FOR REMOVlNG SNOW.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 683,507, dated October 1, 1901'. Application filed February 23, 1899 Serial No. 706,583. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, REUBEN SnIRREFFs, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Boston, in the county of Sufiolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Removing Snow, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to apparatus for re- Y My invention has for its further purpose the provision of mechanism of novel and simple construction and arrangement for accomplishing the aforesaid functions.

To said ends said invention consists in apparatus constructed to take the snow from the street or railroad-track, compress it into a compact or densitied mass, which may be of the density, approximately, of that of ice, and deliver the same to be loaded into vehicles and carried away or deposited upon unused portions ofthe street or at the side or sides of the track, as may be desired; and it consists, further, in the novel elements and arrangement and combination of elements, as hereinafter described and claimed, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a side elevation of an apparatus embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal sectional view of said apparatus, the brushes and snow guides or fenders in elevation. Fig. 3 is a View, partly in transverse section and partly in top plan view.

In the preferred form of my invention, as illustrated in the drawings, the apparatus travels upon ground-wheels 1,supported upon axles 2, mounted in a frame 3. Pivotally hung on the axles 2 are brackets or supports 4, in which are journaled the conical rotating brushes 5, (shown conventionally in the drawings,) which are by preference constructed with metallic bristles, though bristles of other material may be cmployed. I The oritreme points of the brushes are solid and devoid of bristles to facilitate their entrance into the snow. The said brushes are designed to be raised from or lowered into operative position by any suitable mechanism-such, for instance, as that shown in the drawings which consists of a screw-threaded stem 6, working through the platform 7, and a threaded nut 8, said stem having swivel connection with the brushsupporting brackets 4 by means of a link 9, and it is provided with an operating-handle 10, so that said brushes may, as stated, by the rotation of the operating-handle be lifted from their operative position or lowered into operative position, or the depth of their penetration of the snow regulated according to the amount of snow desired to be removed from the street or railway-track during one passage of the apparatus. The said brushes 5 are driven from the ground-wheels by means of intermeshing gear-wheels 11, shiftably carried by the axles of said wheels, the gear-wheels 12, carried by stud-shafts 13, mounted in the brushsupporting brackets 4 and the pinions 14 in mesh therewith and fixed upon the brushshafts, whereby during the travel of the apparatus the snow engaged by the conical brushes is directed toward the center line of the machine and delivered between the snow guides or fenders 15, fixed to the side members 3 of the frame, which guide it into the contiguous conveying chute or conduit 16, the receiving-mouth of which is disposed immediately behind said guides, as shown. The conveying-chute 16 is pivotally carried in the frame-pieces 3, as shown at 17, so that it is free to be lifted or lowered into operative position corresponding with the position of the conical brushes and cooperate therewith to receive the snow delivered by the latter. Said chute is preferably lifted and lowered by means of a two-armed lever 18, pivoted upon the axis 19, extending across the machine between the frame-pieces 3 and connected at one end to the chute by a link 20 and at the other end by a link 21, swiveling to the screw-threaded stem 22, which Worksthrough the platform and the threaded nut 23, fixed to the said platform, and provided V with an operating-handle 24, the mechanism being substantially similar to that for raising and lowering the conical brushes.

The snow delivered into the chute is carried back to the center of the machine, being partly forced by the continued entrance of the snow due to the forward travel of the apparatus and partly by the snowpushers, which are in the form of ribs or paddles carried by the hereinafter-described compressing or densifying cylinders. The rear or delivery end of the chute is formed by a reversible switch or bridge 26, pivoted in the framework 27, the purpose of said switch or bridge being to deliver the snow properly to the compressing or densif yin g cylinders from either of the chutes between which it is pivotally mounted, (as will be referred to,) the operator, by means of the handle 28, shifting said switch or bridge (as implied by the dotted lines shown) to proper position to form a delivery-guide or continuation for either the one or the other of said snow-chutes. From the said snow-chutes the snow is delivered between a compressing device consisting in the preferred. form of my invention, as shown in the drawings, of a plurality of compressing or densifying cylinders (two being shown in the apparatus illustrated in the drawings) mounted in the frame-pieces3, with their peripheral surfaces located at a suitable distance apart, according to the degree of compaction or density which it is desired to impart to the snow. These cylinders rotate in opposite directions, so that at the point where the snow is delivered to them they constitute a converging chamber 30, having moving sides into which the snow is in part forced and in part pushed by the peripheral ribs or paddles 31, carried by the cylinders. During the rotation of the said cylinders the snow is carriednp between them, being gradually compacted or compressed, whereby it is reduced in volume or dimensions, and, if desired, may, according to the distance apart at which said cylinders are arranged, be compacted or compressed to approximately the density of ice.

The sides 3 of the frame are extended upwardly to form standards 32 at opposite sides of the machine. Supported 'upon rods 33, which extend between said standards, are a series of stripper-fingers 34, spaced apart and held in proper relative position by means of sleeves 35, strong upon the rods between said stripper-fingers, arranged, as shown, across the machine. The lower ends of said stripper-fingers are concaved, as illustrated at 36, y

to fit the convexity of the snow-compressing cylinders and strip the snow therefrom. I prefer to employ a series of four pairs of stripper-fingers arranged, as shown, across the machine. The pusher-paddles or ribs 31 of the cylinders are mutilated or made discontinuous, as at 37, to pass the stripper-- fingers, whereby the latter are permitted to csaso'i work in contact with the periphery of said cylinders to'strip the snow therefrom while the cylinders are in rotation;

It will be seen that the ribs or paddles serve not only as pusher devices to push the snow into and through the space between the compressing or densifying cylinders to be reduced to approximately the density of ice and greatly in volume or mass, but also provide pockets to form the compressed snow into cakes, the snow in each pocket being separated or cut from that in other pockets by the ribs or paddles,wherebyitis delivered from the machinein the form of dense cakes. This severing operation is made possible by adjusting the peripheral distance of the compressing-cylinders so that the paddles or ribs of one alternate in position with those of the other, and the ribs or paddles of the one come into practical or cutting engagement with the periphery of the other. The snow when stripped from the cylinders after having been densifiod or compacted passes through the channel existing between the said stripper-fingers, whence it is delivered to the table 39. This table is inclined in opposite directions, as shown, to deliver the show upon the platform of the apparatus, from whence it may be loaded into carts and carried away. It is apparent that the platform may be inclined toward the sides of the machine, so as to deliver the snow directly into attendant vehicles for cartage, or be deposited at the sides of the railway-track or at unused portions of the street-as,for instance, contiguous to the gutters.

I have thus far described the construction of the forward portion of the apparatus, as

shown in the drawings. The rear portion, only so much of which is shown as appears necessary to a full understanding of my invention and the apparatus embodying the same, is similar in all respects to that described. The purpose of providing like apparatus at the forward and rear portions of the machine is to adapt it to perform its function of taking the snow from the street or tracks in either direction of movement, or, in other words, without reference to which end of the machine is forward in travel.

As shown in the drawings, the switch or bridge 26 may be shifted to constitute the delivery end of either of the snow-chutes, and it is held in either of its positions by an eye in its operating-handle fitting either one of two studs on the frame, as shown. The shafts of the cylinders project laterally and carry the intermeshing driving-wheels 40 of said cylinders. These wheels 40 are in turn driven by the gears 11, carried on the axles of the ground-wheels, said gears being shiftable into and out of mesh with the cylinder-driving wheels and also with the brush-driving gears 12 by means of any suitable shifting mechan ism,'such as that shown in the drawings, wherein the gears are provided with a hub &1, grooved to receive ayoke or fork 42,]1aving an operating-handle 4:3.

I contemplate in the form of my invention illustrated in the drawings when the apparatus is running in the direction of the points of the brushes shown that the forward gears 11 shall be shifted to mesh with the brushdriving gears 12 to rotate the brushes and that the rear gears 11 shall be shifted to mesh with the cylinder-driving gears 40, whereby rotation is imparted to the cylinders from the rear, so that they move toward each other at the point where the snow is delivered to them to be gradually compacted or densified in the converging chamber formed by said cylinders. The greatest degree of compaction or density is secured when the snow is passing through the smallest area of said chamber or between those moving parts of the cylinders which come in the greatest nearness to each other. If desired, that chute which is rearmost in the travel of the machine may be adjusted lower than the forward one to compress somewhat the snow which is left on the street.

The construction and operation of my invention will be readily understood from the foregoing description in connection with the accompanying drawings, and it need only be added that the apparatus may be propelled by animal power or by a motor of any description carried by the machine.

My invention secures several clear advantages resulting from the compaction or densification of the snow in its passage therethrough, the most obvious of which is'that the cost of cartage of the snow removed from the tracks or street is greatly reduced and that when delivered to the sides of the track or to unused portions of the street it occupies a greatly-reduced space and from its compact condition is not liable to be blown or drifted into the faces of travelers or into a mass which would cause a blockade of traffic.

While I have shown in the drawings a machine wherein the compressing or densifying cylinders, as well as the brushes, are rotated by the ground-wheels through intermediate mechanism, I desire it understood that within the scope of my invention the said cylinders may be driven by any suitable independent motive power, so that the speed of rotation thereof may be varied as desired without regard to the speed of advance of the apparatus, and I desire it understood also that, ex-

'cept as otherwise specifically stated in the following claims, I do not restrict the scope of my invention to the details of construction and arrangement hereinbefore described and shown in the drawings.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- 1. An apparatus for removing snow, comprising snowgathering mechanism and a snow-compressing device provided with snowpushers and means for feeding snow thereto, substantially as described.

2. An apparatus for removing snow, comprising a framework, a snow-compressing device provided with snow-pushers, rotary brushes, and means for feeding the snow acted upon by said brushes to said compressing devices, substantially as described.

3. The combination with aframe and means for gathering snow from the street, of a snowcompressing cylinder mounted therein and provided with peripheral ribs, substantially as described.

4. The combination with a frame and means for gathering snow from the street, of a snowcompressing cylinder mounted therein and provided with cake-forming pockets, substantially as described.

5. The combination with a frame and means for gathering snow from the street, of snowcompressing cylinders mounted therein, sub stantially as described.

6. The combination with a frame and means for gathering snow from the street, of snowcompressing cylinders mounted therein and provided with peripheral ribs, substantially as described.

7. In an apparatus for removing snow, the combination with brushes for acting upon the snow, of a pair of snow-compressing cylinders mounted upon the apparatus,and snowchutes receiving the snow delivered by the brushes and feeding the same to the snowcompressing cylinders, substantially as described.

8. In an apparatus for removing snow, the combination with pivotally-hung brushes and snow-chutes, of a compressing device, substantially as described.

9. In an apparatus for removing snow, the combination with snow-compressing cylinders provided with peripheral paddles or ribs and stripper-arms mounted in cooperative relation thereto, substantially as described.

10. An apparatus for removing snow comprising snow-compressing cylinders provided with snow pushing and cutting paddles or ribs, and stripper-fingers mounted in cooperative relation thereto, substantially as described.

11. In an apparatus for removing snow, the combination of snow-compressing cylinders provided with mutilated paddles or ribs and stripper fingers in engagement with said drums or cylinders and passing into the mutilations of said ribs or paddles, substantially as described.

12. An apparatus for removing snow comprising means for gathering snow and a plurality of suitably-mounted snow-compressing cylinders having longitudinal peripheral ribs and revolving toward each other at the point where they receive the snow, substantially as described.

13. An apparatus for removing snow, comprising means for gathering snow, a plurality of suitably-mounted snow-compressing cylinders, and means for feeding snow thereto, said cylinders revolving toward each other at the point where they receive the snow, substantially as described.

14. An apparatus for removing snow, consisting of a plurality of rotating cylinders provided with longitudinal peripheral ribs and adjustable guide-chutes arranged below said cylinders, substantially as described.

15. An apparatus for removing snow comprising a plurality of rotary compressing-cylinders having longitudinal peripheral ribs, said cylinders revolving toward each other to receive and compress snow, and adjustable guide-chutes below said cylinders, substantially as described.

16. In an apparatus for removing snow, the combination with a plurality of snow-compressing cylinders provided with longitudinal peripheral ribs, and means for rotating the same, of guide-chutes leading to said cylinders, and conical brushes in advance of said snow-compressing drums or cylinders and arranged to throw the snow toward the middle of the apparatus when the latter is propelled forward.

17. In an apparatus for removing snow, the combination with snow-compressing cylinders, of rotary brushes arranged in front of and in rear of said cylinders, snow-chutes to conduct snow from said brushes to said cylinders, and a movable switch or bridge arranged between said chutes and adapted to be turned to complete the delivery end of either of said chutes, substantially as described.

18. In an apparatus for removing snow, the combination with snow-compressing cylinders, of a plurality of snow-chutes arranged in cooperative relation thereto, and a reversible bridge or switch mounted between said chutes and adapted to be turned to complete the delivery end of either thereof, substantially as described.

19. In an apparatus for removing snow, the combination with snow-compressing cylinders, of brushes arranged in front and in rear thereof, snow-chutes feeding snow from said brushes to said cylinders, and shiftable gear adapted to drive either said drums or said brushes, substantially as described.

20. An apparatus for removing snow, comprising conical rotary brushes provided with solid penetrating-points, and means for lowering and lifting the same into and out of operation, and for regulating the depth of their penetration of the snow, substantially as described.

21. An apparatus for removing sno=w, co-mprising pivotallyhun g, conical,rotar y brushes provided with solid penetrating-points, with means for raising and lowering the same, substantially as described.

22. In an apparatus'for removing snow, the combination with pivotally-hung, conical, rotary brushes, and means for raising and lowering-the same,of pivotally-hungsn ow-chutes, and means for raising and lowering the same to codperate with the brushes, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

REUBEN SHIRREFFS. Witnesses:

IRWIN M. BEARD, J. WM. LINK. 

